


Burning Bridges (Set Me On Fire)

by DrifterWriter



Series: Leo and Ney [2]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-19 06:14:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7348384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrifterWriter/pseuds/DrifterWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neymar wants to go back to Barcelona, for sure. He loves that city and he hates Madrid- there's no reason for him to be staying here. </p><p>He just doesn't want to fly back. He's wanted to have a road trip forever, and he decides that he wants it now, goddammit. </p><p>Leo gets frustrated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MessiFangirl (hpdm4ever)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hpdm4ever/gifts).



> Sorry this chapter is so crappy. I'm half asleep and playing Call of Duty, so please forgive me, por favor. I promise it'll get better. 
> 
> This one's for MessiFangirl (hpdm4ever) for commenting on my first fic and giving me the heart to write this. 
> 
> Title is from "Burning Bridges" by OneRepublic. Makes a nice background listen along with the story.

Leo ran a hand through his hair in frustration, trying to curb his anger as he glared down at the young Brazilian perched at the end of his bed.

"Neymar, you're being a child."

"Call me what you like," Neymar shot back defiantly. "But I'm not flying back to Barcelona."

The whole team looked on with poorly suppressed amusement, watching the idol and the devotee battle it out. Gerard snickered at Ney's expression and was duly elbowed in the ribs by Dani, who was trying not to laught as well. Geri shut up immediately, but continued to grin. 

"For God's sake, Neymar!" Leo exploded, finally reaching the end of his patience. "What is wrong with you? You're being such a kid right now-"

"I am a kid," Neymar said, who wavered under Leo's burning stare but, to his credit, held his ground. 

"No, you're not!" Leo yelled, quite beside himself. The rest of the team stilled suddenly, all smiles gone; it was rare to see Leo fly into a temper over anything, and when he did, the result was never anything good. "You're twenty two years old! Act your age!"

Neymar's lower lip trembled, and for a second, Leo was afraid that he was going to cry. But then he took a deep breath and when he spoke, his voice was low and firm. 

"I'm not flying back, Leo. I don't want to, and you can't make me, so please don't try."

Leo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Neymar very rarely acted so bratty, and suddenly Leo realised that there had to be some reason why he was being so defiant. 

He turned to the team. "Guys, give us a minute alone, please."

The team nodded and shuffled out silently, Geri squeezing Neymar's shoulder before leaving. 

Leo sat down across Neymar on the bed. Neymar stared at his hands. 

"Ney, what's wrong?"

Leo used the softest tone he could muster and it worked; Neymar glanced up at him through his soft lashes before looking back down. 

"Nothing's wrong, Leo. It's just-"

"Just what?"

Neymar didn't answer. Leo subconsciously took one of his dark hands in both of his and rubbed. 

"Why don't you want to go back to Barcelona, Juninho?" Leo hadn't meant the endearment to slip out, but it did, and Leo didn't take it back. "Is it because we lost today?"

"No."

"Then- is there something you don't like back home?"

"No."

"Then why?" Leo asked, confused. 

"I don't- it's not what you think." Neymar stared at the hand which was sandwiched between Leo's pale ones. "I want to go back to Barcelona. I do. I just don't want to fly back."

Leo stared at him. "You're afraid of planes?"

That was the only explanation, which still made no sense whatsoever; they'd travelled by plane a million times before and Juninho had never shown any discomfort. 

Neymar rolled his eyes. "No. I just feel like a road trip."

"You just-" Leo mouthed dumbly. "A road trip?"

"Yeah. From Madrid to Barcelona. Can't be that hard."

Leo didn't really know how to respond to that. 

They say in silence for a few minutes. 

"I'll come with you."

Neymar looked up sharply. "What?"

Leo was rather surprised at his own words, and thought that he'd probably regret this later, but said it again. "I'll come with you. On your road trip."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Neymar stared at him for a second. Then he nodded. "Help me pack?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo realises that he's fallen hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know how I wrote this chapter. I feel like it's going nowhere and there's so much one could do with a Neymessi road trip but nothing enters my head arghhhbh
> 
> Anyway, I'm trying.

"Ney," Leo said, looking at the fuel indicator nervously. "I think we should stop for fuel."

Neymar rolled his eyes, twiddling the steering wheel a little to turn left. "Leo, we left an _hour_ ago."

"So?"

"So the fuel tank is pretty much full!" Neymar retorted. "Stop being paranoid."

"I'm not being paranoid."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not-"

"Yes, you are." Neymar re-stated calmly. "We don't need fuel for at least five more hours, alright? Just- try to relax."

Leo decided to take Neymar's advice for once; he slumped into the shotgun seat of Neymar's new open-roof Mini Cooper ("I've always wanted a Mini, why not buy it from Madrid?"), letting the seven o'clock morning wind hit his face and mess up his hair.

"How long does it take?" Leo asked, because though he really did like Neymar, he could tolerate only so much. "To get to Barcelona?"

"About six hours," Neymar replied, turning right.

"Only six?" Leo said, surprised. "So we'll get there before dinner?"

"Sure." Neymar sounded a little sad. Or maybe that was just Leo's imagination.

*

They stopped for lunch at a tiny, dingy diner where Leo ordered a Caesar salad and Neymar ordered a hamburger.

"This hamburger is-" Neymar munched obnoxiously. "So good."

Leo wanted to laugh and scold and punch Neymar in the face at the same time. He refrained himself from doing all three, stabbed a forkful of lettuce rather fiercely and continued to eat.

"Seriously, Leo." Neymar closed his eyes as he chewed. "You should totally try this hamburger."

"I'm fine, thanks, Ney."

"Leo."

"What, Ney?" Leo said, annoyed, because he craved that hamburger more than he let on.

"Loosen up a little. The hamburger is actually good."

Leo sighed in defeat. "Give us a bite, then."

Neymar extended the burger and Leo bit off an edge, not even bothering to take it from Ney's hand. He could feel Neymar's eyes on him, waiting for his reaction.

"Well?" Neymar's green eyes sparkled.

"It's good," Leo admitted, grudgingly.

His face split into a wide grin, showing off his pointy white teeth. He turned to the waiter. "Hey! We'll have another hamburger, please!"

"Ney!" Leo scolded, trying to shut him up, but it was too late- the waiter had taken the order and left. "Neymar!"

"What? Come on, I'll help you finish your salad."

*

"I'll drive," Leo offered, a little idea forming in his head.

"Why?"

"Just so." Leo shrugged. He had an excellent poker face, which he used now, lest Neymar get a hint of his little plan.

"But you always drive so slowly," Neymar complained, climbing into the shotgun seat nonetheless.

"Well, we're not in any hurry, are we?" Leo asked, choosing his words carefully.

"Nah. As long as we get home before the next game."

Their next game was next week. Plenty of time.

Neymar put his head on Leo's shoulder as they drove, looking out at the blue sky and vast, empty fields rushing by as they drove, Leo's right hand on the steering wheel and left hand unconsciously curled around Neymar's waist so that he could reach the gearbox easily without letting him go.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sleepy."

"Go to sleep, then."

Neymar nodded, kicked off his shoes and curled right up into Leo's side. Leo stiffened a little, but relaxed as Neymar started to snore softly, each exhaled breath tickling Leo's collarbone.

And Leo was a little scared of how right it felt when they were close to each other, Ney tucked into his side like he belonged there.

Maybe he did belong there.

Despite himself, Leo smiled.

*

Neymar woke up three hours later, stretching as he yawned. Leo tried not to notice how cold he felt when Ney moved away.

"Shit," Neymar blinked at the sky. "How long was I out?"

Leo chuckled. "About three hours."

"Three- three hours?" Neymar said, incredulously. "Leo, why didn't you wake me up?"

_Because I like watching you sleep,_ Leo thought.

"Because you looked like you needed the sleep." Leo rolled his eyes at Neymar's disapproving expression. "Don't give me that look, Ney, I'm usually the one looking at you like that."

"Oh, yeah?" Neymar challenged, the corner of his mouth quirked upwards. "And what do I look at you like?"

"Like you adore me."

There was a pause. Then-

"I do adore you," Neymar pointed out.

Leo smiled at him, his heart beating a little too fast for his liking. "I know."

*

"We're not going to Barcelona, are we?" Neymar said, looking out of the window.

Leo shrugged, putting on his best poker face again. "Do you mind a little detour?"

"To where?"

"Zaragoza. I've heard it's beautiful at this time of the year-" _I_ _want to spend some time with you, I don't care where we go_. "-what do you say?"

Neymar didn't reply.

Leo, suddenly worried, took his eyes off the road to look at his teammate. "Ney-?"

Neymar was grinning at him.

"What?" Leo asked, confused.

Neymar reached over and hugged him tight. "Thank you."

Leo blushed a little, suddenly aware that Neymar's head was pressed to his chest and the younger man could probably hear his heart racing a million beats per second. _Pull yourself together, Leo._

But he couldn't.

Leo suddenly realised that he might have a bit of a problem.

"You're welcome," he said, and couldn't help but kiss the top of Neymar's hair before turning his eyes back to the road.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys please comment on this it would make my day so much better. 
> 
> It's not like I'm having a bad day, but I've gotta tell you this story; I've been crushing on my football-playing neighbour for a year and our younger brothers are good friends, but we haven't really spoken to each other properly before. However, the two of us do play football together with twenty of our mutual friends after school. 
> 
> Anyway, we were on opposing teams and I was going to score and he accidentally walloped me in the shin (I scored anyway) and I know it was accidental but it hurts SO MUCH and he apologised a million times and he even brought me water and painkillers and I really appreciate it but it hurts SO MUCH
> 
> And he promised to bring me dinner tomorrow and he's so cute and so hot but my leg is on FIRE

People often underestimated how grumpy Leo could get if he didn't get enough of his precious sleep, so Neymar let him drift off on his shoulder as they drove to Zaragoza.

Not that Neymar minded Leo's head on his shoulder, really.

He drove slowly, surprising even himself, watching the sky as it got progressively darker until the stars began to twinkle, the moon huge and round, hanging over their heads protectively.

Then Neymar shook his head, wondering when he'd become so poetic.

Still, it was a beautiful night, and Neymar was enjoying the wind as it whipped through his hair gently, as well as Leo's, which tickled the base of Neymar's neck.

He liked Leo best when he was asleep like this, small and unassuming, unhesitatingly and completely _his_ , because the moment Leo would wake up he would sit up and look away, and everything would become awkward and Neymar's heart would break a tiny bit more.

So he let him sleep on his shoulder a little bit longer, each of Leo's warm breaths tickling his cool skin, causing a pleasant shiver.

It wasn't long before he could see a town come up in front, its thousand lights twinkling like fireflies in the distance. Zaragoza. They would reach it in about fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes for Neymar to have Leo to himself.

Leo stirred.

Neymar's heart sank.

The older man sat up in his seat, and Neymar tried not to whine at the absence of his warm, heavy head on his collar. He looked away carefully at the road, trying to keep his face passive, not brave enough to look at Leo.

"Ney?"

Neymar automatically turned to Leo. Who was smiling at him openly, albeit a little sleepily.

His heart stopped beating.

"Yeah?" He said carefully.

"Where are we?"

"That's Zaragoza, look." Neymar took one of his hands off the steering wheel to point the town out. Leo's eyes widened in delight as he took in the beautiful sight.

"It's so pretty," he breathed, leaning forward and squinting.

"Yeah, it is," Neymar agreed. "Isn't it?"

"Just like you."

What.

_What_.

He turned in shock to Leo, who was biting his lower lip a little nervously but was, for once, looking straight at him and smiling.

"Thank you," Neymar managed to squeak.

Leo nodded. "Anytime."

He sounded like he meant it.

They drove in silence for a while, Neymar wondering what he should say, whether he should say anything, when Leo leaned closer to put his head back on Neymar's shoulder.

"Are you asleep?" Neymar asked quietly after a few minutes, breathing his words into Leo's ear.

"No." Leo sounded calm, at peace. "I'm just happy."

"Why?"

"I'm with you," Leo said simply.

"You like being with me?"

"Of course I do."

Neymar wanted to cry. He didn't.

"Ney?" Leo turned his head so that he was looking up at him, staring into his eyes.

"Yeah?" Neymar replied, trying to keep his tone even.

"Are you happy?"

It was a very random question, considering that it was from an extremely matter-of-fact Leo, who usually asked questions like _how's your injury?_ and _are you hungry?_

"What?"

"Are you happy?" Leo repeated, his eyes fixed on Neymar.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Leo shrugged.

"I'm fine," Neymar replied. Safest response.

"I asked if you're happy. Not fine."

"Yeah. Well." Neymar didn't really know how to respond to that. "I'm happy, I guess. Sure."

"What makes you happy?"

"Being with you," Neymar blurred, before he could stop himself.

He saw Leo's eyes widen a little, reflecting the moonlight. "Really?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"Being with you makes me happy too."

Neymar's heart sped up more than a little at those words, but he did a pretty decent job of hiding it. "Yeah, you said that."

Leo laughed a little and nuzzled into Neymar's neck, nearly giving him a heart attack.

 

 

They stayed like that until they reached Zaragoza, where Leo sat up in his seat, admiring the town as they drove through it. A few people waved at them excitedly and they waved back. It was very pretty- _pretty_ was the right word- with fairs and lights and food trucks and kids playing football in the street. Everybody seemed so happy, so _alive_.

And there were so many _lights_. Everywhere.

Neymar found himself grinning.

He turned to Leo. "Want to get dinner?"

"Sure." Leo looked around. "Where?"

They parked their car at a random spot and walked around, looking for a restaurant or something.

"Can we get hot dogs?" Neymar asked suddenly, unable to resist. He tugged at Leo's sleeve. "Please?"

"Okay, okay," Leo said, laughing.

They ended up buying hot dogs with too much mustard in them; Neymar didn't really mind. They sat on a bench in the nearby park, watching the kids play football, commenting on their skills.

"That guy," Neymar said, pointing his hot dog at a kid who was so huge that he simply barrelled past the others. "He reminds me of Rooney."

"Yeah," Leo agreed, nodding with his mouth full. "That kid, that one, the one of his left, yeah, he reminds me of Geri."

"No way, Geri's taller."

"Ney, the kid's like, ten years old. Geri was shorter than me when he was ten years old."

"Still. Geri's way better. And sexier."

"You think Geri's sexy?" Leo asked, looking at his sideways.

"Who doesn't think Geri's sexy?" Neymar asked, laughing. He looked at Leo, who was staring at him unsmilingly. "What?"

"Nothing." Leo turned back to he kids and took another bite of the hot dog.

Neymar nudged him playfully. "Are you....jealous?"

"What? No!" Leo swallowed his bite and rolled his eyes at Neymar indignantly. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Oh, I don't know," Neymar laughed mischievously, feeling a little better. "You might secretly be having a crush on me and don't want me to be liking somebody else, but you might be to shy to make a move, and thus."

Leo gaped at him.

Neymar sighed, his smile fading. "I'm kidding, Leo. Sheesh."

"You were? Dammit- I mean, okay! Great," Leo blubbered uncharacteristically. "You were kidding. Okay."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm great." Leo stood suddenly. "Come on, I'll buy you an ice cream."

"You're the best!" Neymar grinned, jumping up and throwing his arms around Leo.

"Yeah, yeah." Leo laughed. "C'mon."

Neymar stood back a little as he watched Leo buy them the ice creams.

"A chocolate cone for me," Leo told the vendor, who was staring at both of them as if he couldn't believe his luck. "And a double scoop cone- chocolate and butterscotch- with Oreos on top for Neymar, please."

"Of course, señor Messi," the poor guy blubbered. "And señor Neymar. Could I have your autographs, please?"

After all that was said and done, and they were walking the streets of Zaragoza slowly, Neymar turned to Leo.

"I'm impressed," Neymar said, honestly.

Leo arched an eyebrow, taking a lick of ice cream. "With what?"

"You. Remembering my favourite type of ice cream."

"What about it?" Leo asked, smiling his goddamned beautiful smile and making Neymar's heart shudder like a poorly-oiled engine. "Even Luis remembers you like chocolate and butterscotch."

"Yeah, but he always forgets the Oreos," Neymar said, pouting pointedly.

Leo laughed, loudly and unabashedly, and he looked at Neymar so fondly that he started to melt faster than the ice cream he was holding.

"After that one time you finished all my Oreos when you stayed over, I doubt I could forget your fondness for them."

"You promised not to ever talk about that!" Neymar punched his shoulder lightly.

Leo rubbed his arm in fake-hurt. "Ney, it was literally a years worth of cookies you finished that day!"

They continued to bicker and laugh until they stopped, their hands covered with ice cream and their sides aching from laughing hysterically.

"Seriously, though," Leo said, hiccuping a little as he wiped his tears of mirth. "I'd never forget your favourite ice cream. You love Oreos more that you love me, for gosh sake."

"Maybe that's not necessarily true," Neymar said, without thinking.

Leo looked at him sideways. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, if it was the question of choosing to save all the Oreos in the world or choosing to save you," Neymar said, choosing his words as carefully as he could, trying his best to cover up his slip. "I _might_ just choose to save you."

"Gee." Leo said, rolling his eyes and smiling. "Glad to see you've got your priorities right, best friend."

"Aw, Leo, you know I love you," Neymar said, as casually as he could, trying to grin to mask the emotion that he felt, the emotion that his face may betray.

"Sure, sure."

They continued to walk slowly, admiring Zaragoza and all its colour and life. It literally looked like the residents were celebrating something- it was just so _happy_ \- but they weren't (Neymar checked by googling it).

It was well past midnight by the time both of them started to yawn. Leo rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Maybe we should get some sleep," Neymar said, staggering a little as he yawned.

"Good idea." Leo gripped Neymar's arm to steady himself.

 

 

They eventually found their way back to the car and signed themselves into a nearby motel, both sharing a room with two big beds.

"We'll go sightseeing tomorrow," Leo promised, as he slipped under the covers of his bed.

"Sure," Neymar said from the other side of the room, his heart leaping a little at the promise in Leo's voice. "Goodnight, Leo."

"Night, Ney." Leo flicked off the light switch.

Soon enough, Leo drifted off to sleep, and his soft snores filled the room. Neymar felt himself falling asleep- he almost did fall asleep- but for the throb that had begun in his leg.

It hurt.

It hurt _bad_.

He clearly remembered when he'd gotten hurt. A defender had kicked him in the shin just before full time; it had hurt then, and the two teams had fussed about him for a whole minute, but the pain had subsided till the point where Neymar forgot about it completely.

_Well_ , Neymar thought, trying not to groan out loud as the ache increased. _Painkillers don't last forever, what'd you expect, Ney?_

He shifted in bed, trying to ignore the increasing agony, trying to let the sound of Leo's breaths lull him to sleep, but nothing worked. He tried lying in place for a bit, but that just made it hurt more.

Sleep came and went; the pain would pull him out of whatever rest he was getting almost as soon as he fell asleep. It went on for about an hour, until Neymar thought _fuck it._

He tried to move his leg.

Big mistake.

He whimpered. He couldn't help it; his leg _burned_. His fingers scrabbled at the bedsheets uselessly as he tried to contain the agony, but nothing cared-

"Ney?"

He stilled, trembling a little. He could see Leo's silhouette as the older man sat up in bed across the room.

"Ney?" Leo said again, sounding more awake.

"Hi," Neymar squeaked back, his voice an octave higher than usual, partly because of the pain and mostly because he was terrified of having woken Leo up.

"Are you okay?"

Leo didn't sound very pissed, which Neymar took courage from. "I'm fine."

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"I-I can't-"

He heard Leo fumble for the lamp switch and flick it on; the light washed over him and illuminated his tired but concerned features. He looked at Neymar intensely, worry writ across his face. "Ney- are you- why are you crying?"

Neymar hadn't realised that silent tears had etched tracks down his face; he brought his hand up to surreptitiously wipe them away and gave Leo a brave smile. "Nothing, I'm fine, real-"

There was the sound of Leo's bed creaking and then, in a blink of an eye, he was sitting on the edge of Neymar's bed, taking his hands and gripping them tightly in his own pale ones. Neymar had learnt over the year that it was Leo's way of giving comfort. It was pretty effective, too.

"Ney," Leo said quietly. "What's wrong?"

Neymar broke down a little, both from the emotional and physical pain, crying hot tears into Leo's neck as he Leo held him tightly, allowing Neymar to vent all his sorrows onto Leo's thin tshirt, probably soaking his skin. Leo didn't bullshit him, didn't mutter comforting nonsense into Neymar's ear, but held him tight instead. It was better, in many ways.

"My leg," Neymar hiccuped finally. "It hurts a little, but it's nothing-"

"I'll be the judge of that, I think," Leo said, detaching himself from Neymar's grip and rolling up the left legs tracksuit to get a look at the injury.

Leo sucked in a breath. Neymar knew it was bad.

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" Leo asked, finally.

"It only started hurting an hour ago," Neymar answered truthfully, shivering as Leo ran a hand over his shin.

Leo stood without a word and went to his bag to dig out the emergency medical kit that he always carried with him (Neymar had always made fun of him for that, but boy, was he thankful now), fishing out some painkillers and a spray that he proceeded to apply to Neymar's leg.

He could feel Leo watching him as he swallowed the painkillers and washed them down with water.

"There," Leo said. "You should be able to fall asleep in a bit. Be careful you don't squish that leg."

Neymar nodded. Leo turned to get into bed.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

Neymar's throat burned, but he forced the words out anyway. "Thank you."

Leo nodded and gave him a soft, tender smile, and Neymar relaxed, sinking back into his pillows as the meds kicked in. He heard the springs in Leo's bed creak and then the room became dark again.

But this time Leo's breaths didn't become deep, and Neymar knew he was still awake.

"Leo?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you sleep in my bed?" Neymar asked, surprised at his own daring.

No answer.

Neymar's heart sank. He lay there a minute, listening to his own heart beating forlornly.

Then there was the sound of bedsprings creaking and there was a small, warm body lying next to him in his bed, radiating calm and comfort and smelling like home.

"Leo?" Neymar said, hardly believing it.

"Shh," Leo whispered in his ear. Neymar felt him slide one of his arms under Neymar's shoulder so that they were hugging, their hearts beating a million paces a second together. "Go to sleep, _Junhino_."

Neymar obeyed, listening to Leo breathing _oh so close_ to him, listening as his breaths evened out to soft, comfortingly quiet snores, and Neymar finally let oblivion steal him away for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously though. Please comment, it'd mean a lot.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, appreciation is appreciated.


End file.
